Fiona Millar | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/profile/fionamillar
Latest news and features from theguardian.com, the world's leading liberal voiceen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015Sun, 02 Aug 2015 23:13:56 GMT2015-08-02T23:13:56Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015The Guardianhttp://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttp://www.theguardian.com
An opposition must oppose – Labour should be less timid on education | Fiona Millarhttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jul/13/opposition-labour-education-leadership-candidates
For five years Labour has been conflicted in its opposition to government reforms. Now finally the leadership candidates seem to be uniting around a sensible way forward. We need them to get on with it<p>Tristram Hunt, the shadow education secretary, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/jun/08/tristram-hunt-labour-lost-plot-education" title="">in an article for Guardian Education </a> last month, explained why Labour failed to offer a “compelling enough” vision for education in the last election. To judge by my straw poll of readers, his piece provoked frustration all round. Why didn’t Labour put up a more robust fight on education policy? Couldn’t some of these points have been made earlier? It is a bit late now. These were common responses.</p><p>The roots of Labour’s election defeat clearly go much deeper than its schools policies. But one of the fundamental tasks of opposition is to oppose – and look at where the failure to do that robustly has got us.</p><p>It is impossible to overstate the task faced&nbsp;by whoever wins the Labour leadership in September</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jul/13/opposition-labour-education-leadership-candidates">Continue reading...</a>EducationSchoolsTeachingEducation policyLabour party leadershipLabourPoliticsMon, 13 Jul 2015 06:00:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jul/13/opposition-labour-education-leadership-candidatesPhotograph: Jeff Overs/BBC/PALabour leadership candidates, from left, Yvette Cooper, Jeremy Corbyn, Liz Kendall and Andy Burnham: ‘Remarkably few stark ideological differences between them’ on education policy.Fiona Millar2015-07-13T06:00:04ZAll four Labour leadership candidates on their visions for education – interviewshttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jul/07/labour-leadership-candidates-education-interviews-burnham-cooper-corbyn-kendall-schools
Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper, Jeremy Corbyn and Liz Kendall discuss their views on grammar schools, the Ebacc, and giving local communities responsibility for education<p>Education was remarkably low key throughout the general election campaign. Even the shadow education secretary, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/jun/08/tristram-hunt-labour-lost-plot-education" title="">Tristram Hunt, suggested last month on these pages</a> that the Labour party had failed to project a strong radical message to the voters. And apart&nbsp;from a&nbsp;few skirmishes and soundbites over free schools, and early branding of each&nbsp;of the four candidates on the spectrum of “new” to “old” Labour on education policy, the subject seems so far to be getting an equally low profile in the campaigns of the candidates standing to be the new Labour leader.</p><p>So we decided to ask the candidates some questions. Why did Labour fail to put education at the heart of the election campaign? Has it provided an effective opposition to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/michaelgove" title="">Michael Gove</a>’s and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/nicky-morgan" title="">Nicky Morgan</a>’s policies? What would change if they were to become Labour party leader?</p><p>Labour’s education policy was timid and too geared towards a fabled middle-England ‘pushy parent’ agenda</p><p>Parents should have a&nbsp;choice of schools, but&nbsp;the truth is that most of them just want a&nbsp;good local school</p><p>I was not in favour of school league tables. There is always going to be someone at the top and the bottom</p><p>I don’t want any more grammar schools, but I&nbsp;am going to stick with our existing policy: we aren’t going to close any</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jul/07/labour-leadership-candidates-education-interviews-burnham-cooper-corbyn-kendall-schools">Continue reading...</a>EducationFree schoolsGrammar schoolsAcademiesEnglish baccalaureateFurther educationHigher educationSchool tablesEarly years educationSchoolsTeachingLabour party leadershipEducation policyAndy BurnhamLiz KendallYvette CooperJeremy CorbynLabourGeneral election 2015PoliticsLocal governmentSocietyTue, 07 Jul 2015 06:09:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jul/07/labour-leadership-candidates-education-interviews-burnham-cooper-corbyn-kendall-schoolsPhotograph: GuardianFrom left: Jeremy Corbyn, Yvette Cooper, Andy Burnham and Liz Kendall, the four candidates competing for leadership of the Labour partyFiona Millar2015-07-07T06:09:04ZOur school system feeds our divided societyhttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jun/09/school-system-society-education-funding-cuts-teachers
It’s not hard to see which children will suffer most from the funding cuts. It won’t be Eton and Harrow scrabbling around to find maths teachers<p>One month on from the election and with a Queen’s speech behind us, what do we know about the next five years? Much political capital is being invested in the sort of structural changes that have prevailed, with mixed results, for the past 15 years.</p><p>There is nothing wrong with the political themes of “one nation” and “aspiration” that bob around between the main parties – what’s not to like about a socially cohesive society in which people can have ambitions and hope? The trouble is we are being force-fed platitudes on these themes, and starved of concrete proposals.</p><p>We no longer send children down mines or up chimneys but we&nbsp;still have a divided&nbsp;society</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jun/09/school-system-society-education-funding-cuts-teachers">Continue reading...</a>EducationEducation policyPoliticsSchoolsTeachingSocietyTeacher shortagesTue, 09 Jun 2015 06:10:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jun/09/school-system-society-education-funding-cuts-teachersPhotograph: Andrew Michael /AlamyIt won’t be Eton and Harrow scrabbling around to find maths teachers; it will be schools in marginalised and deprived communities. Photograph: Andrew Michael/AlamyPhotograph: Andrew Michael /AlamyIt won’t be Eton and Harrow scrabbling around to find maths teachers; it will be schools in marginalised and deprived communities. Photograph: Andrew Michael/AlamyFiona Millar2015-06-09T06:10:06ZGrammar schools: a Tory rightwinger’s dream; everyone else’s nightmare | Fiona Millarhttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/may/11/grammar-schools-tory-rightwinger-selection
The Gove model was at least based on all-ability schools. The danger of a small government majority could be pressure for a return to selection<p>So we have had our 1992 moment. The Tories get to govern again, though with a smaller majority than even John Major managed, and education was barely discussed in this recent campaign.</p><p>Unlike this moment five years ago, it seems unlikely that education will feature heavily in the next few weeks. Will there be an equivalent of the post-2010 <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/32/contents" title="">Academies Act</a>, rushed through the Commons using powers usually reserved for anti-terrorism legislation? Or a defining moment like the cancellation of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/jul/05/school-building-programme-budget-cuts" title="">Building Schools for the Future</a>? Both fiercely controversial, these two issues dominated headlines and the lives of many school communities for months. It is hard to see anything comparable on the horizon.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/may/11/grammar-schools-tory-rightwinger-selection">Continue reading...</a>Grammar schoolsSchoolsAcademiesFree schoolsEducationEducation policyPoliticsMon, 11 May 2015 06:00:10 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/may/11/grammar-schools-tory-rightwinger-selectionPhotograph: Sarah Lee/GuardianA first move on the road to increased selection? Weald of Kent grammar school in Tonbridge is hoping to establish an 'annexe' in Sevenoaks.
Photograph: Sarah Lee for the GuardianPhotograph: Sarah Lee/GuardianA first move on the road to increased selection? Weald of Kent grammar school in Tonbridge is hoping to establish an 'annexe' in Sevenoaks.
Photograph: Sarah Lee for the GuardianFiona Millar2015-05-11T06:00:10ZTeacher strikes divide us. Let’s unite insteadhttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/apr/13/teacher-strikes-funding-heads-governors
Funding cuts could be the issue that unites teachers, heads, governors, pupils and parents. But industrial action isn’t the solution<p>There is something about the threat of teacher strikes that leaves me uneasy. Union membership and the freedom to withhold labour are basic rights, but as a tactic to elicit change in policy the threat of industrial action is a blunt instrument.</p><p>It is used too often and now has a touch about it of the “boy who cried wolf”. And strikes are divisive. However worthy and widely supported the cause, they pit teachers against parents struggling with childcare, and against heads and governors under pressure to deliver progress and results. This usually gives whoever is in power the ability to divide and rule; the real nightmare for government must surely be, instead, a united coalition of these four powerful interest groups that can’t be ignored.</p><p>If sixth forms experience the same rate of cuts in the next five years, their budgets will have fallen by 28%</p><p>Cuts in the schools budget are estimated at up to 12% over the next parliament – austerity on an unprecedented scale</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/apr/13/teacher-strikes-funding-heads-governors">Continue reading...</a>School fundingEducationTeachingSchoolsHigher educationMon, 13 Apr 2015 06:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/apr/13/teacher-strikes-funding-heads-governorsPhotograph: Paul Davey/CorbisTeachers taking to the streets in London in 2012. But have strikes now got a touch of the 'boy who cried wolf'? Photograph: Paul Davey/CorbisPhotograph: Paul Davey/CorbisTeachers taking to the streets in London in 2012. But have strikes now got a touch of the 'boy who cried wolf'? Photograph: Paul Davey/CorbisFiona Millar2015-04-13T06:00:00ZAlternative manifestos aim to influence politicians’ school plans | Fiona Millarhttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/apr/07/alternative-manifestos-aim-influence-politicians-school-plans
<p>Proposals from headteachers, unions and thinktanks include reform of Ofsted, a college of teaching and a national funding formula</p><p>Like most heads, John Tomsett is a busy man. He likes to teach as much as possible, alongside leading his popular comprehensive school on the outskirts of York. He could be forgiven for paying scant attention to the imminent general election which, he points out, falls only one working day before this year’s A-level and GCSE exams start in earnest.</p><p>But Tomsett has more than the usual professional interest in the result on polling day. As one of the authors of a manifesto produced by the <a href="https://headteachersroundtable.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/headteachers-roundtable-education-election-manifesto-2015.pdf">Headteachers’ Roundtable</a> (HTRT) – a group of school leaders who came together three years ago via Twitter out of frustration about the direction of government policy – he will be watching keenly to see if any of his group’s proposals have caught politicians’ imagination.</p><p>Many want a more level playing field between free schools, academies and local authority-run schools</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/apr/07/alternative-manifestos-aim-influence-politicians-school-plans">Continue reading...</a>SchoolsEducationTeachingEducation policyPoliticsManifestos 2015Tue, 07 Apr 2015 08:59:57 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/apr/07/alternative-manifestos-aim-influence-politicians-school-plansPhotograph: Gary CaltonJohn Tomsett: ‘We have to get back to supporting teachers to be better at their job.’Photograph: Gary CaltonJohn Tomsett: ‘We have to get back to supporting teachers to be better at their job.’Fiona Millar2015-04-07T08:59:57ZFree schools, tuition fees and the Israeli election – Politics Weekly podcasthttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/audio/2015/mar/12/free-schools-politics-weekly-podcast
<strong>Fiona Millar</strong>, <strong>Jonathan Simons</strong>, <strong>Richard Adams</strong> and <strong>Anne Perkins</strong> join <strong>Tom Clark</strong> to discuss free schools and education policy; plus <strong>Peter Beaumont</strong> in Jerusalem provides a briefing on the Israeli elections <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/audio/2015/mar/12/free-schools-politics-weekly-podcast">Continue reading...</a>PoliticsFree schoolsEducationTuition feesIsraelBinyamin NetanyahuWorld newsMiddle East and North AfricaThu, 12 Mar 2015 15:42:57 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/audio/2015/mar/12/free-schools-politics-weekly-podcastGraham Turner/GuardianThe Free School, Norwich.
Photograph: Graham Turner for the GuardianPresented by Tom Clark and produced by Phil Maynard2015-03-12T15:42:57ZA nod towards ‘character education’ is welcome – just don’t start measuring ithttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/mar/10/character-education-schools
The character innovation fund is to make ‘awards’ to schools and other bodies – but at least it recognises that children cannot live by exams alone<p>What is character education? Now is a good time to ask. The shadow education secretary, <a href="https://news.tes.co.uk/b/news/2014/02/12/tristram-hunt-children-should-be-taught-39-grit-and-determination-39-in-school.aspx" title="">Tristram Hunt</a>, has been talking about it for the last year and the Department for Education has announced a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dfe-character-awards-application-window-now-open" title="">character innovation fund</a>, which makes character “awards” to schools and other bodies.</p><p>This idea could appear to be verging on parody, but I think we should take it in good faith if it demonstrates a growing recognition that children cannot live by drilling and exams results alone, and that fostering good social and emotional development is far from a wishy-washy “Blob”-like pursuit.</p><p>The department even suggests that England should become a 'global leader of teaching character'</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/mar/10/character-education-schools">Continue reading...</a>SchoolsTeachingEducationTue, 10 Mar 2015 07:15:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/mar/10/character-education-schoolsPhotograph: Andy HallShadow education secretary Tristram Hunt, seen here in the classroom, is an advocate of 'character education'. Photograph: Andy HallPhotograph: Andy HallShadow education secretary Tristram Hunt, seen here in the classroom, is an advocate of 'character education'. Photograph: Andy HallFiona Millar2015-03-10T07:15:04ZGood local schools for all – even Nicky Morgan gets the point at lasthttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/feb/10/good-local-schools-nicky-morgan
For a decade politicians have looked down on local schools – so it’s satisfying that the education secretary is now changing her tune<p>It has been a source of some amusement to me and to many of my friends to hear the education secretary, Nicky Morgan, talk about the fundamental wish of most parents for a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/secretary-of-state-for-education-our-plan-for-education" title="">good local school</a>. To witness this unassailable truth from the lips of a Conservative cabinet minister, indeed from the lips of a cabinet minister of any party, is satisfying.</p><p>Poll after poll reveals that this is a priority for the electorate. Yet the prevailing rhetoric of the past decade has been barely concealed disdain for the local offer, especially if it is a socially mixed community comprehensive school.</p><p>Carrying the torch for the local school hasn’t been easy. We are lumped in with the rest&nbsp;of the Gove ‘blob'</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/feb/10/good-local-schools-nicky-morgan">Continue reading...</a>SchoolsEducationNicky MorganPoliticsSchool admissionsTue, 10 Feb 2015 07:21:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/feb/10/good-local-schools-nicky-morganPhotograph: Teri PengilleyA good local school is the wish of most parents. Photograph: Teri PengilleyPhotograph: Teri PengilleyA good local school is the wish of most parents. Photograph: Teri PengilleyFiona Millar2015-02-10T07:21:04ZA third of headteachers say school buildings not fit for purposehttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jan/27/school-buildings-not-fit-for-purpose
Leaking roofs, rising damp … four years after Building Schools for the Future was scrapped, this is the reality for 35% of school leaders surveyed<p>One of the swiftest and most dramatic acts after the last election was the axing of the Building Schools for the Future programme. The building plans of more than 700 schools, which were being developed as part of a &pound;55bn project to rebuild or refurbish every secondary school in the country, were scrapped with immediate effect causing distress and anger to many heads, teachers, parent and pupils.</p><p>Five years on, the issue of school capital funding may have faded from public view, but a new survey of more than 1,000 heads suggests that lack of investment remains a pressing priority for hundreds of primary and secondary schools. A poll by <a href="https://schoolleaders.thekeysupport.com">the Key</a>, an independent organisation that provides advice and support to school leaders and governors, found that <a href="http://key.sc/15CwpTQ">more than a third of heads felt their schools weren’t fit for purpose</a>.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jan/27/school-buildings-not-fit-for-purpose">Continue reading...</a>SchoolsEducationUK newsPoliticsTue, 27 Jan 2015 07:40:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jan/27/school-buildings-not-fit-for-purposePhotograph: /Frantzesco Kangaris for The GuardianJane Robinson, head of the Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School in Kent, has had concrete falling off walls and no electricity in parts of the school. Photograph: Frantzesco Kangaris for The GuardianPhotograph: /Frantzesco Kangaris for The GuardianJane Robinson, head of the Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School in Kent, has had concrete falling off walls and no electricity in parts of the school. Photograph: Frantzesco Kangaris for The GuardianFiona Millar2015-01-27T07:40:00ZThe election big idea should be: trust teachers | Fiona Millarhttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jan/13/runup-to-election-education-big-idea-schools-leadership-trust-headteachers-teachers
Academies and free schools have failed to improve things. I’d vote for a good head and excellent teachers in every school<p>There is a general election looming in case you hadn’t noticed – 114 days away to be precise. But the big education idea has yet to reveal itself. What will it be?</p><p>My prediction is that “choice” and its twin sister, “diversity”, will finally fade into the distance. Not just because they suddenly seem very last century, but because the evidence is now incontrovertible; pure choice is impossible. School places aren’t tins of baked beans on a supermarket shelf, to be expanded and contracted at will, and simply inventing new types of schools isn’t a golden bullet when it comes to raising standards.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jan/13/runup-to-election-education-big-idea-schools-leadership-trust-headteachers-teachers">Continue reading...</a>SchoolsAcademiesFree schoolsTeachingEducationTue, 13 Jan 2015 07:20:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jan/13/runup-to-election-education-big-idea-schools-leadership-trust-headteachers-teachersPhotograph: John Stillwell/PAMichael Gove in his first month as education secretary in 2010. Conservative mantras of ‘choice’ and ‘diversity’ have been shown to be either unworkable or ineffective in raising standards. Photograph: John Stillwell/PAPhotograph: John Stillwell/PAMichael Gove in his first month as education secretary in 2010. Conservative mantras of ‘choice’ and ‘diversity’ have been shown to be either unworkable or ineffective in raising standards. Photograph: John Stillwell/PAFiona Millar2015-01-13T07:20:01ZIs this campaign the kiss of death for grammar schools? | Fiona Millarhttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/dec/09/death-grammar-schools-tory-selection
Tory rightwingers want academic selection to become an election issue. Bring it on, say their opponents from all parties, and let voters see the facts<p>A year ago, the then education secretary, Michael Gove, took what seemed to be a bold and significant decision. He blocked the creation of a “satellite” grammar school in Kent, enraging local campaigners and dashing the hopes of the pro-grammar-school lobby in his own party who believed the new school in <a href="http://sevenoaksgrammar.com/revised-sevenoaks-grammar-plan-seeks-government-approval/" title="">Sevenoaks</a> might herald a return to academic selection across the country.</p><p>Twelve months on, that decision appears to have been anything but the fatal blow its critics feared. Not only has the Sevenoaks bid been resurrected, backed by Kent county council, but another “satellite” grammar school proposal has surfaced in <a href="http://gulfnews.com/news/world/may-in-bid-to-open-new-grammar-school-1.1409777" title="">Maidenhead</a>, with the backing of the home secretary, Theresa May, who is the local MP.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/dec/09/death-grammar-schools-tory-selection">Continue reading...</a>SchoolsGrammar schoolsEducationConservativesPoliticsLabourTue, 09 Dec 2014 07:40:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/dec/09/death-grammar-schools-tory-selectionPhotograph: James Drew Turner/GuardianConservative MP Graham Brady is a leading light in the pro-selection campaign. Photograph: James Drew Turner for the GuardianPhotograph: James Drew Turner/GuardianConservative MP Graham Brady is a leading light in the pro-selection campaign. Photograph: James Drew Turner for the GuardianFiona Millar2014-12-09T07:40:01ZWhy we need a powerful minister for children | Fiona Millarhttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/nov/11/we-need-powerful-minister-for-children-nicky-morgan
Nicky Morgan’s near-silence won’t cut it when we should be fighting to put children at the heart of government policy<p>A strange thing happened recently. I turned on the radio and heard the education secretary speaking. It took a while to work out her identity; her voice was unfamiliar and she was talking about her subsidiary portfolio, women’s issues.</p><p>The fact that she was unrecognisable was revealing. The policy of becalming the education world in the run-up to the general election is clearly working. It could be argued (and is self-evidently the view inside government) that a period of quiet contemplation, implementation and remoralisation is still necessary after all those relentless reforms and gimmicky initiatives.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/nov/11/we-need-powerful-minister-for-children-nicky-morgan">Continue reading...</a>EducationSchoolsChildrenSocietyEducation policyPoliticsMichael GoveNicky MorganUK newsTue, 11 Nov 2014 07:20:07 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/nov/11/we-need-powerful-minister-for-children-nicky-morganPhotograph: Jo Unruh/Getty Images'We should be prioritising high-quality early years education and care, family support and parenting.' Photograph: Jo Unruh/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Jo Unruh/Getty Images'We should be prioritising high-quality early years education and care, family support and parenting.' Photograph: Jo Unruh/Getty ImagesFiona Millar2014-11-11T07:20:07ZWant fairer school admissions? Stop tinkering and scrap all selection | Fiona Millarhttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/oct/14/fairer-school-admissions-scrap-selection
Nothing will change until we eliminate all social and academic selection and adopt systems such as lotteries and banding<p>Over the past few weeks I have found myself unusually preoccupied with the issue of school admissions. Secondary open days are taking place all around me, and the subject is on many parents’ lips.</p><p>Delving into the evidence about the so-called <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/sep/16/state-school-pupils-worse-tutor-proof-11-plus-tests" title="">tutor-proof</a> 11-plus test (which is in fact nothing of the sort) and discovering that <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/oct/07/choice-schools-children-parents-admissions-selection" title="">three-quarters of secondary schools</a> in England are now their own admissions authorities hasn’t helped.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/oct/14/fairer-school-admissions-scrap-selection">Continue reading...</a>School admissionsSchoolsEducationUK newsTue, 14 Oct 2014 06:10:18 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/oct/14/fairer-school-admissions-scrap-selectionPhotograph: Graeme Robertson/GuardianThe pupil premium covers any child eligible for free school meals at any time in the preceding six years. Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the GuardianPhotograph: Graeme Robertson/GuardianThe pupil premium covers any child eligible for free school meals at any time in the preceding six years. Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the GuardianFiona Millar2014-10-14T06:10:18ZSchool places: a guide through the minefield of admissions | Fiona Millarhttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/oct/07/choice-schools-children-parents-admissions-selection
About 75% of schools may now set their own rules about which children they accept. Here are the 10 most common criteria and how they are used … and abused<p>This time next month the open days will be over, the forms dispatched and the anxious deliberations about which secondary school is best for thousands of children over until next spring’s offer day. It is over 25 years since the idea of “choice” was firmly established in the minds of parents. But in some ways the task of exercising that choice is harder than ever.</p><p>Whereas once parents had to choose between local authority schools and a minority of faith schools, each of which allocated places in broadly similar ways, now the education landscape is dotted with academies, free schools, foundation and trust schools, city technology colleges, university technology colleges and studios schools, all of which have the freedom to set and manage their own admissions criteria.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/oct/07/choice-schools-children-parents-admissions-selection">Continue reading...</a>SchoolsSchool admissionsFree schoolsAcademiesEducationTue, 07 Oct 2014 06:40:12 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/oct/07/choice-schools-children-parents-admissions-selectionPhotograph: Graham Turner/GuardianThe admissions practices of the London Oratory school were recently judged to be discriminating on social and ethnic grounds. Photograph: Graham Turner for the GuardianPhotograph: Graham Turner/GuardianThe admissions practices of the London Oratory school were recently judged to be discriminating on social and ethnic grounds. Photograph: Graham Turner for the GuardianFiona Millar2014-10-07T06:40:12ZState school pupils doing worse in 'tutor-proof' 11-plus testshttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/sep/16/state-school-pupils-worse-tutor-proof-11-plus-tests
Buckinghamshire's new exam was meant to improve poorer children's access to grammar schools. So what happened?<p>The start of the autumn term is a bittersweet time for headteacher Sue Lewin. Settling new entrants at her Buckinghamshire junior school quickly gives way to five weeks of stress and anxiety for older pupils preparing to move to secondary school.</p><p>Choosing a new school can be a fraught process for families everywhere. But in Buckinghamshire, one of 15 fully selective authorities, the pressure starts early. Over the last fortnight pupils have sat preparation papers for the 11-plus, and the real exam. Many will have been coached for months, or years.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/sep/16/state-school-pupils-worse-tutor-proof-11-plus-tests">Continue reading...</a>Grammar schoolsSchoolsEducationPrivate schoolsUK newsExamsTue, 16 Sep 2014 06:10:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/sep/16/state-school-pupils-worse-tutor-proof-11-plus-testsMartin Godwin/GuardianChildren in selective areas are frequently coached for the 11-plus. Photograph: Martin Godwin for the GuardianMartin Godwin/GuardianChildren in selective areas are frequently coached for the 11-plus. Photograph: Martin Godwin for the GuardianFiona Millar2014-09-16T06:10:00ZDon't denigrate teachers, we need more of them | Fiona Millarhttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/sep/09/dont-denigrate-teachers-need-more
The education secretary's own image will plummet if she and her colleagues cannot make sure we have enough school teachers<p>The new education secretary seems to have got off to a mixed start. First keeping her head down, apart from the odd unexceptional interview and article, then suggesting that teachers have an <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/11065894/Gove-set-out-the-reforms.-Im-pursuing-them.html" title="">image problem</a>, then refusing to rule out for-profit schools, and finally getting caught up in a bizarre climbdown over the idea that setting should be compulsory.</p><p>I even found myself wondering if this last strange episode was a Goveian plot from beyond the grave, to unsettle the otherwise rather successful dulling down of the educational debate before the general election.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/sep/09/dont-denigrate-teachers-need-more">Continue reading...</a>EducationTeacher shortagesSchoolsTeachingTeacher trainingTue, 09 Sep 2014 06:10:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/sep/09/dont-denigrate-teachers-need-moreSuzanne Plunkett/ReutersThe education secretary, Nicky Morgan, has suggested that teachers have an image problem. Photograph: Suzanne Plunkett/ReutersSuzanne Plunkett/ReutersThe education secretary, Nicky Morgan, has suggested that teachers have an image problem. Photograph: Suzanne Plunkett/ReutersFiona Millar2014-09-09T06:10:00ZAre the 'forces of conservatism' in retreat over education? | Fiona Millarhttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/jul/08/forces-of-conservatism-in-retreat-education
Even some on the right are now questioning the wisdom of market forces within schools and Gove's support for a narrow curriculum<p>It is the end of term so I am going to suggest a question for gentle reflection over the summer holidays. Are the &quot;forces of conservatism&quot; in education finally on the wane? I know that sounds odd, as thousands of heads and teachers contemplate the next torrent of changes they must implement. But consider the two fundamental pillars of this particular reform movement. The first is a belief that &quot;market forces&quot; can ensure every school will be good and give parents choice.</p><p>The second is that drilling children in a narrow range of subjects with a view to passing an equally narrow range of assessment tests constitutes a good education.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/jul/08/forces-of-conservatism-in-retreat-education">Continue reading...</a>EducationEducation policyPoliticsSchoolsExamsMichael GoveUK newsTue, 08 Jul 2014 06:15:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/jul/08/forces-of-conservatism-in-retreat-educationDave Thompson/PAMany schools are now organising themselves into partnerships – collaboration has trumped competition. Photograph: Dave Thompson/PADave Thompson/PAMany schools are now organising themselves into partnerships – collaboration has trumped competition. Photograph: Dave Thompson/PAFiona Millar2014-07-08T06:15:04ZWill Durand's 'Eton-style' boarding school for state pupils ever materialise? | Fiona Millarhttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/jun/17/boarding-academy-school-for-state-pupils
Questions hang over the proposed boarding academy about its financial viability and its benefit to children<p>It has been dubbed the Eton of the state sector, a &quot;Harry Potter&quot; type school nestled in the South Downs, aimed at giving a public school boarding education to some of London's most disadvantaged children. But less than three months before the Durand Boarding Academy is due to open its doors in the sleepy West Sussex village of Stedham, confusion surrounds the long-term future of what has been called one of Michael Gove's pet projects.</p><p>Refurbishment of the site, which should be home from September to a year-8 cohort currently at Durand's middle school in South London, does not appear to be under way. Classroom blocks are without roofs; there are rumours that the buildings have limited water supply, and local concerns about sewage treatment. The only functional part of the property is a Grade II listed Norman Shaw country house which, according to local residents, can at best house around 50 pupils if it is to accommodate teaching and boarding provision under current government guidelines.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/jun/17/boarding-academy-school-for-state-pupils">Continue reading...</a>AcademiesPrivate schoolsSchoolsEducationMichael GovePoliticsTue, 17 Jun 2014 06:25:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/jun/17/boarding-academy-school-for-state-pupilsGraham Turner/GuardianThe country house site of the proposed academy in Stedham, West Sussex. Critics say that bussing children from Stockwell to Sussex each week is not practicable. Photograph: Graham Turner for the GuardianGraham Turner/GuardianThe country house site of the proposed academy in Stedham, West Sussex. Critics say that bussing children from Stockwell to Sussex each week is not practicable. Photograph: Graham Turner for the GuardianFiona Millar2014-06-17T06:25:00ZIf only the Trojan horse affair was the death-knell for academy schools | Fiona Millarhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/10/trojan-horse-academy-schools
The idea of schools with governing bodies effectively chosen by the sponsor and little local oversight has always been misguided<br /><br />• <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jun/10/ofsted-head-wrong-gove-snap-inspections-trojan-horse" title="">Ofsted head wrong for implying Gove blocked snap inspections, says DfE</a><p>Set aside the many troubling details of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/jun/09/trojan-horse-row-birmingham-schools-special-measures-ofsted" title="">the Birmingham &quot;Trojan horse&quot; story</a> and the question on many people's lips today is where it leaves the coalition's academy and free schools policy. To what extent was the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/mar/07/alleged-plot-birmingham-schools-islamic-principles" title="">alleged Islamic infiltration</a> of these schools a result of the academy programme? And does the chief inspector of schools <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/jun/09/trojan-horse-schools-wilshaw-ofsted-gove" title="">Sir Michael Wilshaw's suggestion that academy funding agreements and governance arrangements should be reviewed</a> sound the death-knell for the whole idea of the &quot;independent&quot; state school which now goes back almost 20 years.</p><p>I must declare an interest. I have been a longstanding critic of the idea of independent state schools. Not because I am against new management in failing schools, investment in deprived areas or innovative attempts to raise standards, though the academy programme's ability to do this systematically is now in some doubt. But because the idea of schools governed only by a commercial contract with the secretary of state, with freedoms other schools don't have, governing bodies effectively chosen by the sponsor and little local oversight, is a very bad one.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/10/trojan-horse-academy-schools">Continue reading...</a>Education policySchoolsEducationBirminghamUK newsLiberal-Conservative coalitionConservativesLiberal DemocratsPoliticsLabourAcademiesFree schoolsMichael GoveCivil serviceTue, 10 Jun 2014 15:15:54 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/10/trojan-horse-academy-schoolsAlamy'Too much power and responsibility is diverted to central government, where ministers and civil servants simply don’t have the capacity to oversee thousands of schools.' Photograph: AlamyAlamy'Too much power and responsibility is diverted to central government, where ministers and civil servants simply don’t have the capacity to oversee thousands of schools.' Photograph: AlamyFiona Millar2014-06-10T15:15:54Z